Apple has already upturned the computing, music and mobile phone industries. If the rumors and reports circling around the Cupertino company are correct, it's now taking aim at television.

At a media event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Apple is widely expected to unveil a new version of its Apple TV device that could revolutionize the way we use and interact with television, analysts say.

If Apple does what's been rumored, "they're going to bring the interactive user interface between me and my television into the 21st century," said Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, a technology consulting firm.

Apple TV is one of a number of items that the company is expected to discuss at the event, which will be held at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium near City Hall. The company is also expected to roll out updates to its iPhone lineup, a new version of its iOS software that underlies those devices and possible a new, larger-screened iPad.

But it's the new Apple TV that has perhaps the most revolutionary potential.

According to published reports, Apple will be transforming the gadget from a simple streaming device into a powerful, potentially multi-purpose living room computer.

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The new device will have the same powerful mobile processor that is in the iPhone 6 and will run a version of the same iOS software that underlies iPhones and iPads, giving it the ability to run sophisticated apps and games. Its new remote control will have a touch pad and motion sensors, offering users new ways of interacting with games and movies.

The device is also supposed to include support for both HomeKit, Apple's home automation technology, and Siri, Apple's voice assistant. That could allow users to search for things to watch by simply talking to their TV or allow them to lock all their doors by just speaking a command to it.

But the biggest change could be the addition of an applications store. When Apple added an app store to the iPhone, it helped turn the smartphone into a powerful new computing platform. With Apple able to tap into the cadre of developers it has for the iPhone and iPad, an Apple TV that users can customize with their choice of apps has similar potential, analysts said.

"The possibilities that are there from opening up the platform and creating an app store -- those possibilities are the most important and exciting for Apple TV," said Paul Erickson, a senior analyst with research firm IHS Technology.

Apple has been dabbling in the television market for years now. Steve Jobs unveiled the first iteration of Apple TV in 2006, even before he announced the first version of the iPhone.

But Apple officials have long treated the device as the "hobby" they often describe it as, investing relatively little effort to keep up with rivals. Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV hardware in more than three years, and other devices now offer far more channels and features, often at a much lower price. While Apple TV was the early leader in the market for streaming media players, inexpensive devices like Google's Chromecast and Roku's Streaming Stick have come to dominate the market in the past two years, according to analysts.

Even as Apple put the device on the back burner, it didn't abandon it completely. It has continued to add channels to the device, including an exclusive arrangement with HBO's new stand-alone streaming service earlier this year.

And there have long been reports and rumors that the company was working on something much bigger. Shortly before he died, Steve Jobs told his biographer Walt Isaacson that he'd "finally cracked" the TV interface in a way that would make it simple to find content from the Web and traditional channels. Meanwhile, reports have persisted that Apple is working on a streaming video service of its own.

Apple's effort to upend the television market isn't a sure thing, analysts said. Many of the features that it is expected to include on Apple TV -- an app store, voice search, a more powerful processor and a motion-sensing remote -- are already available on other devices, they noted. Meanwhile, Roku, which has some 2,000 channels available for its boxes, is likely to maintain its lead on Apple for the time being, Erickson said.

The bigger problem facing the new Apple TV could be its price, analysts said. Reports suggest that Apple will price the device at $150. That's not only $50 more than what the company charged for its previous Apple TV, until it discounted it earlier this year, but it's $100 more than what the streaming sticks are selling for.

At that price, Apple could have a hard time finding buyers other than its most loyal fans, said Barbara Kraus, an analyst who covers the connected device market for Parks Associates.

"I guess I don't see anything here that makes me think that this is a game changer," Kraus said.

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